1949 



y 1 



Pl#^ 




— ^s 



i-s 



ELEMENTS OF SUCCESS: 



AN ADDRESS 



DELIYERED AT THB 



FIRST ANNUAL MEETING 



OF THE 



ALUMNI ASSOCIATION 



OF 



COLUMBIAN COLLEGE. 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 



>r 



BY R. W. CUSHMAN. 



WASHINGTON: 

PRINTED BY ROBERT A. WATERS. 

1848. 




1^^ 



^m 




ELEMENTS OF SUCCESS. 



AN ADDRESS 



DELIVERED AT THE 



FIRST ANNUAL MEETING 



OF THE 



ALUMNI ASSOCIATION 



OF 



: COLUMBIAN COLLEGE< 

WASHINGTON, D. C. 






Y R. W. CUSHMAN. 



WASHINGTON: . 

PRINTED BY ROBERT A. WATERS, 

1848. 






Washington, July 20, 1848. 

tlEV. R. W. CUSHMAN. 

Dear Sir : The Alumni Association of Columbian College unani- 
mously request, for publication, a copy of the Address delivered by 
you before that body, in the presence of a large number of ladies 
and gentlemen, On the evening of commencement day, the 12th 
instant. 

The members will feel a pride in being permitted to present to 
their Alma Mater and to their fellow citizens so rich an offering, as 
the first fruits of their Association. 

Yours, truly, 

WM. a FORCE, 

Corresponding Secxetary. 



Washington, August II, 1848, 

Dear Sir : I owe you an apology for the tardiness with which 
1 reply to your request, made in behalf of the Alumni Association of 
Columbian College, The simple truth is, I have not considered the 
Address worthy, as a literary article, of the compliment your kind- 
ness has given it. It was only commenced, with the advantage of a 
iew hours' premeditation, on the Wednesday before it was delivered ; 
and it divided even that opportunity with the claims of clerical duty. 

The good of others, however, and not his own literary reputation, 
should be the prevailing consideration with a christian minister. 
I have concluded therefore to say, that if the Committee to whom 
the Association have referred the matter, shall judge that the value 
of the lessons which the Address contains may compensate for its 
literary deficiency, it is at their service. 

Yours, very truly, 

R. W. CUSHMAN. 

Wm. Q. Force, Esq., 

Cor, Sec. of Association of Alumni of Columbian College. 



ADDRESS, 



Gentlemen, Alumni op Columbian College ; 

The twenty-fourth anniversary of our Alma 
Mater has called us together from our different 
and distant homes^ to the first anniversary of our 
literary brotherhood. We come, for the most 
part, strangers to each other. More than a score 
of classes have passed from her halls since some 
of us were there. Many of us, therefore, are 
known to each other scarcely by name. But 
we have a common bond : a kind of intellectual 
consanguinity connects us with each other. The 
Institution, whose youngest sons have this day 
shown how faithful and skilful has been her care 
to them^ has nursed us all, and given us the be- 
ginnings of what we are. 

We all look back to days when we, like them, 
were conning our lessons amidst the quiet groves 
of yonder classic hills ; and we can well remem- 
ber with what emotions we looked forward to 
that day of days— the last, the greatest of college 
life, the most thought of, the most coveted, and 
yet the most dreaded, as ^^big with fates" and 
full of portents — when we should receive, as they 



6 



have this day received^ her farewell counsels and 
benediction ; and should go forth to seek our 
part to act^ and our place for action, in the busy 
world. It was to us then an untried world. 
But it had been the object of our contempla- 
tion — the theme of our study ; and we thought 
we knew it w^ell, geographically, scientifically, 
historically, politically, and religiously. We had 
laid our plans as to the part we should play in it, 
and had schooled our powers that we might 
play it with success. 

Years have since passed over us. And they 
have offered to us their lessons of wisdom. 
They have taught us much we then did not 
know, and much that never can be learned in 
the cloister. The most efficient of teachers is 
the daughter of time and of suffering. 

It has seemed to me, nevertheless, that some- 
thing of that knowledge which we have to ac- 
credit to experience might be gained in a man- 
ner less painful ; at a time, in the outset of life, 
when it would be more valuable, as it would 
have been more available. 

If we improve the present occasion by a re- 
view of some of the lessons on 

SUCCESS IN LIFE, 

which we have gathered either from our own 
experience or from our observation of the success 
or the mistakes of others who began the career 
of life with us, we shall, perhaps, spend the 



present hour as agreeably as we could spend it 
by the discussion of a topic less practical. Such 
a survey, though it may prove too late to be 
greatly serviceable to ourselves, may yet, per- 
haps, render some service to our junior brethren 
who have to day attained their academic ma- 
jority. 

Life, socially considered, and as an object of 
hope to the young, is a complex thing : compri- 
sing, chiefly, the domestic relations, property, 
standing, and influence. When these have been 
attained, and possessed through the common 
period of human longevity, a man feels that life 
has had, in his case, whatever it can claim as 
properly belonging to it. And if these things 
have been rightly used and enjoyed, it is parted 
with, with a kind of satisfaction which belongs 
only to the ideas of attainment, success, and com- 
pletion. On the contrary, when the natural an- 
ticipation of congenial domestic associations has 
been disappointed, and life has worn on either 
without those ties and those springs of happiness 
that belong to the family state, or with them 
realized only as chains of bondage and fountains 
of bitterness ; or when, through indiscretion or 
misdirected endeavors, one's industry and enter- 
prise have left him, each year of life, still battling 
with poverty ; or when, through self distrust, or 
the want of address to take, and"the skill to main- 
tain, the position among men to which he is en- 



8 

titled ; or when the consciousness of powers ne- 
glected or misapplied comes over him^ as life 
draws to a close — and I speak of life in its phi- 
losophical aspect merely — I apprehend a most 
painful sense of futility must haunt his waning 
yearS; as if existence had been to him an abortion. 
To know the causes of failure, and how to 
shun them ; and the means of suceess, and how 
to secure them; is the problem of hfe. 

As to the elements of success, it is certainly 
an advantage to enter on life with the aids of for- 
tune and family distinction. For the beginning 
of the race they give a commanding starting point. 
But, then, the race is long. And though they 
may supply a good momentum in the outset, 
they are altogether insufhcient of themselves to 
countervail and overrule the thousand causes of 
disaster which every man must meet in his pro- 
gress. And, in point of fact, notwithstanding 
their undeniable advantages, they prove obstacles, 
incumbrances, or snares, to young men who pos- 
sess them, as frequently as .they prove to be real 
aids to life. 

The possession of a fortune to begin life with, 
may be regarded as an advantage, as spreading 
one important element of happiness along the 
entire course of a man's career, which he who 
is the architect of his own fortunes can reach, 
perhaps, only when the morning glow and fresh- 
ness of hfe have passed. But then, possession 



9 



supersedes the necessity of acquisition^ and de- 
stroys the incentive to temperance^ self-control, 
invention, exertion, and enterprise, which the 
want of wealth supplies. And this is a great 
disadvantage ; for these qualities form the very 
bone and sinew of a valuable character. And this 
relief from the necessity of their cultivation lets 
down the mind into a seducing repose, w^here it 
is likely to become a prey to reverie, ennui, and 
temptation. It is a mistake in young men who 
are entering on life, to fix the eye so intently on 
wealth as an immediate requisite, as to render 
themselves unhappy by discontent or envy. Tal- 
ent and character are a better inheritance than 
money, as they may be converted into fountains 
whose streams are silver and never run dry. 

The advantage of family distinction, also, like 
that of wealth, is good for a beginning. It w^ill 
give a young man the vantage ground in the start 
with his competitors. But, like that, also, it may 
prove a snare. 

To be a great man's son, is a good thing up to 
twenty-one. But it has this disadvantage con- 
nected with it afterwards, that his merits are 
doomed to play their lustres under his father's 
shadow. And however serene or brilliant they 
may be, men will still compare them, not with 
their own, but with his ; and he, too, will look, 
not down on the world below him, but up to his 
own revered paragon, and will oftener feel a 



10 

sense of discouragement than of emulation^ in the 
consciousness of the world's invidious compari- 
son. As it will be well for the glory of our 
national monument that Washington is not the 
city of the pyramids ; so it is better for a young 
man to I'each greatness and stand absolute, than 
to be born to it, and be overshadowed by it. 

The things which are really essential for a 
successful life are not circumstances, but qualities; 
not the things which surround a man, but the 
things which are in him ; not the adjuncts of his 
position, but the attributes of his character. 
Among those deemed most necessary, must be 
enumerated, principle, self-control, self-knowl- 
edge, the knowledge of men, industry, persever- 
ance, and self-reliance. 

The bearing of these on the prosperity of life, 
their connexion with each other, their relative 
importance, their reciprocal influence, it would 
be both profitable and interesting to discuss at 
large. The limits of the occasion, however, and 
the fatigues of the day, restrict us, on most of 
them, to a passing observation merely. 

Principle, — We speak of a man of principle, 
in distinction from a man of passion, of impulses, 
notions, whims, and temporizing expedients. 
Principle recognizes the difference between right 
and wrong ; holds that difference in view ; and is 
governed by it, not merely in the selection of the 



11 

objects to be aimed at^ but in the means o{ reach- 
ing them. If an object which is desired can be 
reached only by bending from the right, princi- 
ple foregoes that object. It resists impulse ; it 
refuses the counsels of expediency ; it scorns 
temporizing. It opens the book of law, and 
swears fealty to the constitution of the moral 
world. It has its haven ; and it marks its course. 
It spreads out its chart ; fixes its eye on the com- 
pass ; lays the hand on the helm, and points the 
ship to her pathway, and holds her there, though 
seas may buffet, and winds and currents solicit 
to an easier motion, and promise a speedier but 
a different home. 

Thus, principle becomes the basis of self-con- 
trol, and is essential to it. A man without prin- 
ciple can never be his own master. His passions 
will ever assert supremacy over him ; and the 
present flitting advantage will be ever seducing 
him from the path that leads to ultimate and per- 
manent good. 

Self-knowledge . — We use this term as embra- 
cing both the knowledge of what belongs to one- 
self, in common with other men, and what con- 
stitutes his personality. 

On this point we will only say, in this connex- 
ion, that if the associations of life have their har- 
monies and their discords, it is because there 
are such things as adaptations, congenialities, 
and antipathies in the natures of men ; and that, 



12 

if we would find happiness^ and exert right in- 
fluence in the associations into which we enter^ 
we should make our elections not only with a 
reference to what we approach, but with refer- 
ence to what we are : and this can be done only 
by knowing ourselves. 

And if the pursuits of life require certain qual- 
ities to prosecute them with success^ a man should 
not enter on a given pursuit without knowing 
himself to possess those quahties which fit him 
for it. And if he knows that he does not possess 
them, in development^ and his tastes covet what 
his powers seem to forbid, it is certainly desira- 
ble he should understand enough of his nature to 
judge whether use and practice may give him 
fitness for that pursuit. 

Knowledge of men, — What degree of confidence 
a man may place in his fellow men, is, practically, 
one of the most important questions connected 
with the economy of life. How far is it safe to 
trust appearances, professions, and promises .f^ 
To what extent may benevolence and justice be 
relied on, to overrule the promptings of selfishness 
in those with whom one's happiness and interests 
are implicated, either in friendships or business ? 
What are the springs of action that move the 
busy world ; and what, really, the ties that bind 
society together? And what may be expected 
to be its reaction on one's welfare from the 
adoption of a given hne of conduct in one's in- 
tercourse with it.f^ 



13 

To answer these questions requires the knowl- 
edge of men. It is^ indeed, a knowledge which is 
not to be expected of a man to any great extent 
in the outset of Hfe. And yet, if he enters on 
his career with erroneous conceptions on these 
points^ he is almost sure to place his confidence 
where it will be abused ; to find his aims circum- 
vented, his plans defeated, his hopes disappoint- 
ed, and his enterprises overtaken by disaster. 
The almost universal error of honorable and in- 
genuous youth is, to think better of the world 
than truth will justify. 

Instruction may do something in preparing a 
young man to shun the dangers of a misplaced 
confidence in men; and maxims which have 
been stamped with the approval of ages, would 
he but heed them, might serve him as hghts of 
a safer pathway. But the wrecks of fortunes and 
of happiness which line the shores of all time 
attest their insufficiency. For some evils, alas^^ 
suffering seems the only corrective: and from 
those of a misplaced confidence in men, expe- 
rience proves, after all instruction that can be 
given, the only successful schoolmaster. Yet, as 
we are linked with society, and our prosperity 
necessarily placed within the power of other men^ 
the knowledge of men should certainly be among 
the first lessons to be taught and learned ; and 
all should be done that can be done, in the way 
of gathering from the experience of others the 



14 



wisdom which else must be taken from the smart 
of our own. 

The necessity of Industry to success^ is almost 
too obvious even for a passing observation. It is 
God's prerogative alone to have by wishing. 
The constitution which He has given to things 
has made acquisition, /or maUy the issue only of 
effort. A worm in his needs, yet a god in his 
powers, and placed amid the elements of the 
things suited to his being rather than their struc- 
tures, what he wants he is required to create. 
And though science and art have increased his 
facilities, civilization has multiplied his wants ; 
till activity is even more necessary to satisfaction 
in the civilized than the savage state. And then, 
what he has labored to create, the constitution 
of things withdraws from his possession ; and 
the work that has once met a given want, has to 
be done over again. The great law of decom- 
position — in some of its operations vulgarly 
called consumption, in others poetically named 
••^the tooth of time" — imposes the necessity of 
repetition. The labor which is necessary to 
bring us into a condition of comfort, is necessary 
to keep us there. Things being thus by the 
constitution which God has given them, a young 
man should never calculate on prosperity with- 
out industry ; especially amid the rivalries, the 
competitions, and struggles that will surround 
him, whatever path he enters. 



15 

And Per severance J too^ is a necessary elemenl 
of success. No great good thing which life holds 
out to the ambition of man is so conditioned that 
inception and achievement are within reach of 
each other* Wisdom, skill, honors, fortune, 
power, all lie far onward from their beginnings. 
Even friendships and domestic joys submit to the 
universal law : they are no such fruits of spon- 
taneous and extempore growth as to be plucked 
for the mere planting. 

But I pass to the last named quality, on which 
it was my design mainly to dwell : 

Self- Reliance. — And I attach the more impor- 
tance to this, as an element of success, because 
it is a quality which it would almost seem as if 
mankind had conspired to proscribe. 

We mean by this term, not a conceited self- 
sufficiency, which is more usually seen associated 
with ignorance and incapacity than with intelli- 
gence and a good understanding; but we meaa 
that confidence in one's ow^n powers which may 
rightfully be indulged from a just appreciation of 
them. Of this, certainly, there ought to be no 
censure. And yet how often do we hear the 
sorrowful exclamation, half in pity and half in re- 
proach, ^^why didn't he ask my advice !'' Now, 
it may be admitted that, in those cases in which 
misfortune results to a man from his following 
his own judgment, it would have been better to 



16 

have followed other people's. But I do not 
know how this can be known in advance ; and if 
it cannot be, the question is a very simple one, 
whether the Creator meant that men should or 
should not act by the aid of their own powers ? 
Has he given to some men eyes for others to see 
by? Or does He expect that all men, at least all 
to whom He has given eyes, should use their 
own? Where has He laid the responsibility of 
action ? On the actor, or on his neighbor ? 

It is, indeed, a man's duty to gather the ma- 
terials of judgment wherever he can find them ; 
to seek the information he needs, from any source 
and from every source, from the highest and from 
the humblest that may yield it. And it behooves 
him, as he values success in his undertakings, 
to see well to it, that his information be reliable, 
and that he has all the elements which are ne- 
cessary in making up a judgment on the course 
to be pursued. But beyond this, the judgment, 
the decision, as the responsibility, must be his 
own. 

It is a remark which has often been made, 
that those who are thrown on the world without 
fortune, and without the benefit of parental coun- 
sel and guardianship, have, frequently, the great- 
est success in life. Bating the numerous instan- 
ces of wreck by temptation, this remark is true. 
The eminence to which they reach they could 
never have attained, if they had not been made 



17 

to feel while young, and made to feel most inly, 
that they must stand on their own feet, if they 
would stand at all ; and that if they would rise, 
they must employ their own powers. Self-reli- 
ance has thus been early forced upon them by 
their circumstances. 

Young men who have the benefit of a worthy 
parental supervision are not early called on to 
cultivate this characteristic. D uring their minor- 
ity, it is hardly expected in them. It is not the 
age for self-direction, but for submission and 
docility. But every virtue has its neighbor 
vice, and every good its besetting evil : and this 
very influence of parental counsel and control 
may readily prove an injury in one of its bearings, 
if not guarded against, while it is an inestimable 
blessing in many others. The reliance on others, 
which is, in fact, a necessary condition of the 
first part of existence, may grow into a habit ; 
which, after a young man has begun life for him- 
self, he may find it very diflficult to overcome. 
And his danger is the greater, the more excel- 
lent the counsel, the more efficacious and health-* 
ful the control : because the more full the suc- 
cor, the less felt the need of self-exertion. 

It is very natural, moreover, for a young man, 
whose domestic relations have been fortunate, to 
go out into the world with a better opinion of 
mankind than truth will sanction. It is true he 
will not get far on in it before he will find that 



18 

the generality of men are neither as wise^ nor as 
honest, nor as benevolent, as they might be. 
But he is in danger of making the mistake of 
looking on men, after his arrival at manhood, too 
much as he was accustomed to look on his pa- 
rents in his minority — of regarding them with a 
reverence to which, from him as a man among 
men, they are not entitled ; and of accrediting 
them, in the matters of knowledge, wisdom, ca- 
pacity, with advantages they do not possess. 
The natural effect of all is, to lead him to indulge 
an unwarrantable distrust of his own abilities; 
and to place his welfare too much within the 
control of others. 

For these reasons, we would place a young 
man who is entering into life, on his guard against 
depending on the advice and judgment of others. 
If he is conscious of wanting the knowledge re- 
quisite for action, let his first business be to set 
about getting it. Let him enter on no pursuit 
or enterprise till he has first properly prepared 
himself for it. Before he decides to enter a given 
relation, or assume a given responsibility, let him 
understand himself — let him consider his own 
fitness and powers. If he is conscious of being 
destitute of the quahties which are requisite for 
it ; why, then he should let it alone, and turn to 
something else better suited to his idiosyncrasy. 
In God's well ordered providence there must be 
a place for every thing ; and every thing should 



19 



be in its place — talent and mind^ as well as mat- 
ter. 

But when a man knows himself to possess the 
requisite quahfications for a given undertaking 
and knows enough of the means by which the 
end is to be secured^ and enough of the causes 
that may work defeat, to justify a judgment of 
the probability of success; let him form that 
judgment himself, and rely on it, and calmly act 
on it. It is — it must be, as a general fact, bet- 
ter than the judgment of other men can be who 
have had less interest in gathering, weighing, and 
comparing the elements that belong to the sub- 
ject. 

It will often happen, however, in every man's 
history, that he will find himself under the ne- 
cessity of acting, even in matters of the greatest 
moment, without that confidence in the favora- 
ble issue of an undertaking which is most desira- 
ble. The causes on w^hich success or failure 
shall depend, are either so numerous, so hidden, 
or so implicated, that one cannot be assured of 
know^ing them all and understanding their influ- 
ence. And yet he is called to act. In such case 
a habit of self-reliance, becomes a most important 
element of success. It renders every power and 
faculty which he possesses for ensuring success^ 
available to the greatest possible extent. Confi- 
dence in one's own powers, in an emergency, is 
strength ; while distrust is a paralysis, the sure 



20 

precursor and the very cause of defeat. The 
seaman who relies on the grasping power of his 
own rough hand to hold him to the tossing sky- 
sail has descended to the deck in safety, while 
he who doubted and trembled in his dizzy 
height^ fainted and fell. 

These then^ are the qualities which, as we 
have observed the influences that shape the for- 
tunes of men, have seemed to us essential to suc- 
cess in life : right principle ; self-control ; self- 
knowledge ; the knowledge of men ; industry ; 
perseverance ; and self-reliance. 

We would not say that they are the only 
qualities which enter into a thorough competen- 
cy for every pursuit and situation. Nor would 
we say that instances may not be pointed to, of 
successful life, in which some one of them may 
be wanting. A man may become rich, for ex- 
ample, without industry, by a providence, an ac- 
cident, or a blunder. And there are cases of 
fortune, influence, and fame, which seem to speak 
the all sufficiency of some one particular quality ; 
from which a successful career seems to have 
sprung, like a tree, with all its branches, foliage, 
and fruit, from a single germ. Thus, in the med- 
ical profession, fortune and fame, from tender- 
ness ; in the ministry, popularity, though with- 
out fortune, from affability ; in authorship, from 
wit ; in politics, from cunning ; in diplomacy, 



21 

from address ; in editorship^ from tact ; in friend- 
ship^ from forbearance ; in social position^ from 
manners ; in domestic life^ from self-control ; 
in war^ from coolness ; in courtship^ from courage. 

All this, however, after all, is but selection. 
The fortunate agency of a particular trait has given 
it prominence, and an importance in the public 
eye, which belongs not to itself alone, but as it 
is connected with other and more fundamental 
qualities. The medical practitioner would never 
have succeeded, as he has done, without some- 
thing more important to commend him to popu- 
lar favor than the gentleness and sympathy, val- 
uable though they are, with which he approaches 
the bed-side of suffering. Other qualifications 
must have conspired to advance the mihtary 
chieftain to renown, besides the distinguished 
one of firmness before an enemy's fire. And so 
of the rest. 

The popular mind is fond of unity, and is inapt 
at analysis. And when it has named one con- 
spicuous element in a complex sum of causes it 
is satisfied, as having accounted for the effect. 
The effect of them all, nevertheless, it C3.n feel, 
and accord the meed of favor and of fame. 

But, if instances of success, without the pos- 
session of all the qualities we have commended 
may be cited, they arje fortunately too few to en- 
courage hope without merit ; while the wrecks 
of hope and of promise that lie within the view 



22 

of every man, if he will but survey them, attest 
the force and vahie of those qualities. 

One, whose career we have marked, has al- 
ways been poor, though always a man of untir- 
ing industry. The source of his misfortunes has 
been the want of a knowledge of men. With 
the highest tone of principle himself, he could 
never realize the extent to which it is wanting in 
the world. Another, though reared in affluence, 
and starting with a good patrimony, has iallen 
into the same condition, by relying on his inheri- 
tence instead of his exertions. Another, who 
might have been a treasure to society, and a gem 
on the nation's brow, has drowned his memory 
in the wine cup, and lingered on through life, a 
spiritless mope, with happiness blasted and hope 
extinguished, by an unsuitable domestic alliance ; 
originated as, alas, too many are originated, 
without self-knowledge, or knowledge of the ob- 
ject selected — determined on and pledged at a 
period too early for a sound judgment, and ad- 
hered to and consummated at a riper age, against 
the remonstrance of the heart ; and, melancholy 
to say, for the apostacy it confesses, in the 
spirit of self-immolation to principle. A fourth, 
whose talent and industry were all that could be 
asked, as guaranty of wealth and honor, sunk to 
the doom of the culprit through want of principle. 
A fifth, who seemed to have been born for occu- 
pying a commanding position, has remained in 



23 

comparative obscurity from want of self- control 
His passions have obstructed every path that for- 
tune has prepared for him ; and dashed every 
cup of happiness that Providence and love and 
friendship have mingled. 

In the choice of pur suit y also, on vi^hich so much 
depends as to influence, fortune, and happiness, 
the instances of mistake are not fev^. One is 
pining in a profession which he loathes, and in 
which, for that reason, he can never excel ; and 
which he selected, not from a love and a taste 
for it, but from an idea of its honor. And 
another, w^ho had happily chosen the very 
pursuit for which, of all that could be named, 
both his talents and his tastes best fitted him, 
has left it, and sacrificed every thing — prospect, 
influence, and happiness, to a love of change ; 
a mistake in which one hardly knows which to 
say was most conspicuous, a want of persever- 
ance, or a want of self-knowledge. 

In what we have said we hope we shall not be 
understood as countenancing the disposition which 
is sometimes seen in young men to mark out for 
themselves a course of action while in a state of 
minority and even of boyhood ; and to enter up- 
on it in disregard of parental counsel and defi- 
ence of parental authority. Such a disposition 
betokens the absence of right principles, right 
affections^ self-knowledge, and self-control ; and 



24 



is not to be called self-reliance^ but self-wilL 
And where it is manifest^ it is to be regarded 
rather as the omen of a life of ignominy and 
disaster, than as a prognostic of honorable suc- 
cess. The self-reliance whichwe would describe, 
and exhort a young man to cherish, can be in- 
dulged only when it has a proper basis to rest 
on : the basis of a disciplined mind, a regulated 
heart, and common sense. 

Thus, as we have looked back on the history 
of some we knew in early days, but who have 
passed away, and around on others who are still 
walking life's journey with us, we gather exam- 
ples which proclaim this truth : That he who 
would he happy, and prosperous, and honored, 
and useful in the public, social, and domestic re- 
lations and responsibilities oj life, must know how 
to act his part ; to employ his powers ; to select 
and fill his station ; to improve his occasions ; to 
avoid his dangers : and must set himself about it, 
and keep himself at it, under the guidance of 
principle and the approval of virtue. 



ALUMNI ASSOCIATION 

OF 

COLUMBIAN COLLEGE, D. C. 



The first organized meeting of the Alumni of tlie Columbian 
College was held in the Baptist Church on Tenth street, in Wash- 
ington, on the evening of commencement daj^ July 14, 1847. 

Dr. T. B. J, Frye, being the eldest ahimnus present, convened 
the meeting, and stated its object in the following remarks : 

Gentlemen Alumni of Columbian College : It devolves upon me, 
as the eldest of you present, to state the objects for which this meet- 
ing was called, I regret that it has not fallen into abler hands ; yet, 
though fully sensible of my inadequacy to the task, I will undertake 
it, relying upon your kindness to overlook the imperfect manner in 
which I may perform the duty. 

The chief object for which we have assembled is a high and holy 
one. It is to gather around the domestic hearth of our Alma Mater 
those of her children who remain near it, and also such of those 
whom circumstances may permit occasionally to revisit those col- 
lege scenes, which ever linger upon the memory as the happiest of 
our lives. We hope by means of this Association to keep alive m 
all their brightness the friendships and intimacies which bound their 
golden links about our hearts during our sojourn in the walls of 
Alma Mater, and at the same time to afford us opportunities of ma- 
king the acquaintance of those who preceded us in the ascent of the 
hill of learning, and of those who since have walked in academic 
groves and deeply drank of the Pierian spring. 

Such reunions as this Association contemplates are calculated to 
produce the best possible results in softening the asperities of char- 
acter which we are all too apt to acquire in the contests of the world. 

Each commencement day will be to us as is the good old thanks- 
giving day of our Puritan fathers to their descendants, when we, at 
the shrine of our classic mother, as they at the altar of maternal 
affection, will turn from the turmoil of life, to pay our homage, to 
interchange the grasp of friendship, and to breathe the heartfelt wish 
for each other's future welfare, and, gaining new strength from this 
healthful exercise of the mind and heart, go forth better fitted to per- 
form our part in the great drama of life. 



26 

Another object of this Association, and one of deep importance, is 
to repay the debt of gratitude we owe our Alma Mater, by using 
our most strenuous efforts to aid and assist her in becoming what 
she ought to be, situated as she is at the metropolis of the nation, 
and possessing from that very cause the greatest advantages — advan- 
tages which are increasing with every year. To do this, gentlemen, 
we must have action and concentration of effort. This banding to- 
gether of her sons is the best and surest mode of obtaining both 
these requisites ; and let us individually, as well as collectively, do all 
in our power, with our tongues and with our pens, to bring about a 
consummation so devoutly to be wished. 

Gentlemen, in conclusion, may wisdom and harmony preside over 
your deliberations, and may this Association, together with the col- 
lege which gave it birth, be a means in the hands of the Giver of 
all Good to diffuse true knowledge and true religion throughout 
the world. 

Whereupon, on motion of H, W. Dodge, Dr. Frye was unan- 
imously chosen President of the meeting. 

On motion of R^v. T. J. Shepherd, H. W. Dodge was chosen 
Secretary, 

The Rev. T. J. Shepherd then moved that a committee of three 
be appointed by the Chair to draught a Constitution ; and the fol- 
lowing gentlemen were appointed : Rev. T. J. Shepherd, Prof. A. 
J. Huntington, and Wm. B. Webb, Esq. 

The committee retired for a few minutes, and, during their ab- 
sence, the meeting was addressed by Rev. J. S. Walthall. 

Upon the return of the committee a constitution was reported ; 
and, after a brief discussion, during which Messrs. W. L. Childs 
and W. B. Webb addressed the meeting, was adopted. 

The Association then elected the following officers for the current 
year: 

Hon. W. Collins, President. 

S. C. Smoot, M. D., Vice President. 

T. B. J. Fryf., M. D., Recording Secretary. 

Prof. A. J. Huntington, Corresponding Secretary. 

Wm. Gl. Force, Treasurer. 

E. M. Chapin, M. D,, ^ 

Wm. Q,. Force, > Executive Committee. 

William B. Webb, ) 

On motion of Rev. T. J. Shepherd, Prof. Huntington, Wm. Q,. 
Force, and John Pickett were appomted a committee to revise the 
constitution and report at the next annual meeting. 

On motion of Prof. Huntington, a committee of three was ap- 



27 

pointed to nominate an orator for the next annual meeting. They 
reported the Rev. R. W. Cushman, of Boston, who was unani- 
mously elected for the occasion. 

On motion of Mr. W. L. Childs, the President, Executive Com- 
mittee, and such other officers as may be present, were empowered 
to appoint another orator in case the one elected declined. 

The Rev. T. J. Shepherd moved that the proceedings of this 
meeting be published in the National Intelligencer and Union. 

There being no further business, the Association adjourned. 

T. B.J. FRYE, Chairman. 
H. W. Dodge, Secretary. 

ALUMNI PRESENT AT THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ASSOCIATION. 

Rev. Eli Ball, Virginia. | R. S. Haynes, Virginia. 

S. C. Smoot, M. D., Washington. J. R. Bagby, Virginia. 

Rev, T. S. Walthall, Virginia. \ J. Pickett, Virginia. 

T. B, J. Frye, M. D., Washington. I W. T. Hendren, Virginia. 

E. M. Chapin, M. D., Washington. \ J. P. Craig, Maine. 

Rev. H. VV. Dodge, Virginia. I J. R. JNunn, Virginia. 

Wm. Q. Force, Washington. > W. L. Claybrook, Virginia. 

Rev. T. J. Shepherd. Virginia. ] B. H. Lincoln, Massachusetts. 

Rev. J. B. Taylor, Virginia. j T. Pollard, Virginia. 

Rev. a. J. Huntington, College Hill. \ J. Christian, Virginia. 

H. L. Chapin, Washington. | R. H. Land, Virginia. 

W.B. Webq, Washington. I R. French, District of Columbia. 

J. W. H. LovEjoY, Washington. \ A. Bagbv, Virginia. 

W. L. Childs, New York. \ 



FIRST ANNUAL MEETING. 

The first annual meeting of the Association of the Alumni of 
Columbian College was held on Wednesday, the 12th of July, in 
the E street Baptist Church. The President, the Hon. Wm. Col- 
lins, on taking the chair, made a brief, but highly interesting ad- 
dress. 

In the absence of the Secretary, Mr. J. B. Pleasants was 
elected pro tempore. 

The committee appointed at the last meeting, reported through 
Mr. John Pickett, the following Constitution, which, after an 
amendment, was adopted. 

CONSTITUTION OF THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OF THE COLUMBIAN COL- 
LEGE.. D. C. 

Art. 1. This Association shall be styled the Alumni Associa- 
tion of the Columbian College in the District of Columbia. 



28 

Art. 2. The objects of this Association shall be the cultivation 
of friendship and union among- its members, the promotion of the 
interests of their Alma Mater, and the general advancement of 
literature. 

Art. 3. This Association shall consist of such persons as have 
received or shall receive, in course, the degree of Bachelor of Arts 
from the Columbian College. 

Art. 4. All persons upon whom this College has conferred or 
shall confer an honorary degree, shall be honorary members of this 
Association. 

Art. 5. There shall be an annual meeting of this Association 
on the evening of Commencement day, when an oration shall be 
delivered by an alumnus of the College, appointed at the annual 
meeting previous ; also, such other meetings as may be deemed 
proper. 

Art. 6. The officers of the Association shall be a President, a 
Vice President, a Corresponding and a Recording Secretary, a 
Treasurer, and an Executive Committee of five, who shall be 
chosen at each annual meeting from Alumni residing in the 
District of Columbia or its vicinity. 

Art. 7. This Constitution may be altered at any annual meeting 
by a vote of two-thirds of the members present. 

Amendment to the 5th Article. There shall be also appointed 
an alternate, and in the event of a failure on the part of both, the 
Executive Committee shall have the power of appointing one. 

Professor Huntington, Horace Stringfellow, and W. B. 
Webb, were appointed by the President to nominate an orator and 
an alternate for the next meeting, who, according to the 5th article 
of the Constitution, shall be alumni of the institution. After a 
short consultation, they reported the Rev. Baron Stow, D. D., of 
Boston, as orator; and the Rev. S. G. Bulfinch, of the District of 
Columbia, as alternate; which nominations were unanimously ap- 
proved. 

The Association then proceeded to elect its officers : 
Hon. Wm. Collins was elected President. 
Dr. Frederick Mav, Vice President. 
Wm. Ql. Force, Corresponding Secretary. 
Dr. T. B. J. Frye, Recording Secretary. 
Wm. B. Webb, Treasurer. 
John Pickett, "] 
j. w. h. lovejoy, i 

Dr. E. Chapin, }■ Executive Committee. 
J. B. Pleasants, | 
J. S. Cathcart, J 

The Association was addressed on the various matters coming 



29 

before it, by Messrs. Huntington, Force, Chikis, Stringfeliow, 
Pleasants, and Pickett ; and after a most harmonious and interesting 
session, adjourned to meet at half past seven o'clock. 

J. B. PLEASAN'rS, Secretary pro tern. 



At half past seven the Association met in the E street Baptist 
Church. 

The annual oration was delivered by the Rev. R. W. Cushman. 

Immediately after which it was unanimously voted that Mr. 
Cushman be requested to grant a copy of the oration for publica- 
tion. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



029 908 654 9 i 



